Tedisco: Bills not worth printing on paper

Assemblyman says most proposals go nowhere; urges use of Internet

JIMMY VIELKIND Capitol burea, Times Union

By JIMMY VIELKIND Capitol bureau

Published 12:01 am, Thursday, February 17, 2011

Stacks of bills are costly to print when most proposals go nowhere, Assemblyman Jim Tedisco of Schenectady says. He wants to end printing of bills, but his own proposal must be printed on paper.
(LUANNE M. FERRIS)

Stacks of bills are costly to print when most proposals go nowhere,...

Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, R-Schenectady, says printing bills is a waste of money. He says most bills are not enacted. (Associated Press/Archive)

That's the latest proposal from Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, R-Schenectady, who says taxpayer money can be saved by ending the printing of paper copies of proposed legislation -- much of which is never enacted.

Tedisco said other printing costs could be considered, and made his point with inches-thick copies of a legislative digest that is delivered weekly to the offices of Assembly members.

It's just a list of bills, updated with new bills.

"That's like getting a new phone book put on your front porch every week because 10 people moved into your neighborhood," Tedisco said.

Although the LRS booted up 27 years ago, legislative rules still require printed bills be held on file in legislative document rooms for public inspection, and placed on each member's desk. According to Sisa Moyo, a spokeswoman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the total annual printing costs are $400,000. That's one cent for every five pages.

But in addition to costs, "we can also save a forest," Tedisco said.

"It's a total waste of taxpayer dollars. What I'm asking the Legislature to do is just move into the 21st century and use that technology, not 19th-century technology," he said.

Last year, 11,700 bills were introduced in the Assembly. Several states, including California, Connecticut, Florida and New Jersey are moving away from paper, and Tedisco noted a 399-0 vote in Congress to stop mandatory printing.

Tedisco held up his BlackBerry to make a point. An avowed fiscal conservative, he has often pushed easily digestible ways to save money, and mastered the art of making a point. While minority leader, he installed a countdown clock to urge on-time passage of the state budget.

Other members have suggested limiting the number of bills each member may introduce, but Tedisco said, "You shouldn't limit good ideas; what you should limit is the cost of those good ideas."

His bill does not yet have a Senate sponsor. Democrats control the Assembly, which means the idea may not gain traction.

The ultimate irony, according to Tedisco: "I've got to print the legislation to eliminate the printing of legislation -- on paper!"